While Reivan's little surprise was a success, he, unfortunately, got kicked out because Elsamina was too embarrassed. The transparency of her clothes was one thing, but she was apparently too soaked with sweat so her reaction wasn't very strange.

'She's been covered in sweat and something else when we really got into it, so I don't see why she needs to be so shy.'

Maybe it had something to do with the cause of the sweat. There was no reason for her to be bashful if he was the reason she was all sweaty, and she'd proven numerous times that she didn't mind. So the only thing different in this case was that the sweat came from how obscenely hot it was.

Of course, before she kicked him out, the redheaded bombshell hugged and rained kisses down on him out of relief for his safety. Apparently, even if she was told that he was perfectly fine, seeing him really cemented the fact and removed all doubts. It was hard to be sure in these trying times, so cold hard proof like this was the best way to set one's mind at ease.

Since he needed some time to calm down too, so he quietly waited for her in one of the mansion's rooms—the master room that Elsamina seemed to sleep in, to be exact. She was getting dressed in an adjacent chamber that housed the majority of her wardrobe and presumably some very large mirrors. Just with a cursory glance around the bedroom, he could see the signs of having been lived in—like the set of cosmetics on a nearby vanity that had yet to be put away or some discarded documents.

The large tubs filled with what he assumed was melted ice placed in the four corners of the room were a new addition, however.

'I suppose temperature-neutralizing artifacts aren't quite enough for this level of discomfort.'

One of the knights guarding her must have had the ice attribute, thankfully. And judging by some of the heat that seemed to constantly get sifted out along with any humidity, it seemed there were fire and water elementalists nearby as well. All of that meant that the master bedroom was probably one of the most comfortable spots in Lageton at the moment.

In any case, it didn't take long for Elsamina to reenter, seemingly having freshened herself up and gotten fully dressed.

Well, it was a bit of a stretch to say that she was fully dressed because she was only wearing a somewhat transparent negligee. It was a striking green, complimenting her beautiful white skin and the luxurious mane of crimson hair flowing down her back in waves. Her incredible figure was out on full display for his eyes only and he couldn't help but salivate a little at the sight, though he managed not to let her notice.

"Goodness, you're not hiding your intentions at all," he remarked with amusement. "If I didn't know any better, you brought me here just to toy with my body."

Elsamina sat beside him, a smirk gracing her face as her green eyes searched for his. "It seems I've been exposed. You've deduced it correctly. I did, in fact, bring you here to toy with your body. Give up now, for there is nothing you can do."

"You animal!" Reivan slowly let himself fall to the bed. "I am powerless to stop you. Go on then. Do your worst! You may have my body, but not my dignity!"

"Alright, alright." She leaned over him and smooshed his cheeks with one hand, causing him to pucker. "Enough fooling around. I actually prefer being the one who's attacked, so..."

Reivan did not need to be told twice, being quite smart when it came to things of this nature. He proceeded to push her down, his loins stirring when she squealed in pleasant surprise. It was almost like a moan, and boy was she good at those. There was a feedback loop whenever they jumped into bed together. She'd turn him on, then he'd try to make her feel good, and then she'd moan—thereby turning him on even more and starting the cycle anew.

To him, this was the circle of life. A truly beautiful circle. The best kind of circle.

"Sorry. I should probably say something witty now, but I'm a little too entranced to come up with anything."

After saying that, Reivan couldn't help but lean down a little and steal a kiss. Well, it wasn't really stealing since he saw how she closed her eyes just in time, as if she was expecting it.

Once they parted, she licked her lips and hooked an arm around his head to stop him from backing away too far. And with a tug, she pulled him close for another one.

At that point, there was no stopping them.

----------------------------------------

By the time they'd had enough of their fun, a significant portion of the day had already passed. The sky outside the window had turned orange and they were starting to get hungry since the only thing they ate for lunch was each other and a few croissants he kept in his ring—the former need not be mentioned, but the latter's filling was a tad too sweet for him.

They had both taken a shot of aphrodisiac and she even asked for some stamina medicine to keep up with his vigor. Naturally, Reivan didn't let her do it alone, purposely dosing himself with a more concentrated version through [Effect Reproduction].

Because of that, the bed was somewhat of a mess. As were their clothes and bodies. So they both opted to take a bath first before moving to catch up in another room.

Naturally, something happened during the bath that would require them to bathe again, but there was no problem with that.

"Are you trying something new?" Reivan asked from his spot on a nearby sofa as he watched her get dressed. She noticeably used a lot more cosmetics than he remembered, but they weren't enough to warrant confusion. What really boggled him was her choice of clothing. "Are you going to a funeral? Ah, but you look good in them, of course."

"Do I really?" Elsamina got up from her seat in front of the vanity and did a little spin for him. "It's not too alluring, is it?"

'Are you kidding, anything's alluring if you wear it.'

Yet the dress she wore was already alluring enough on its own.

A black sleeveless one-piece dress that reached her knees, with long lace gloves that obscured everything from just above her elbows to the tips of her fingers. Nobody but him would know, but she wore a garter belt to hold up the lace stockings covering her legs. To top it all off, she wore a black hat with a wide rim and a green feather adorning it, a pair of obsidian heels, and various jewelry that served to magnify her beauty.

She looked amazing. Fantastic, even.

'Hm. So this is why men gifted women with jewelry...'

Reivan felt slightly enlightened. Initially, he thought that the reason was because the men wanted to get laid, but that may not have been the end of it. It was far deeper than he could have predicted.

"Ken." Elsamina pinched his cheek. "You're staring too much. And you aren't even answering."

"Ah. Right. Sorry." Hearing his old name snapped him out of the mental jungle in his head. "Were you really planning to go to a funeral?"

"That's right."

"For Ouroboros employees or...?

She shook her head. "No casualties among any of our people. It's a good thing that because of Arkhan's usual climate, we gave out temperature-neutralizing artifacts to all our workers so they all made it through. Unfortunately, we didn't have an unlimited number of artifacts to give out to everyone's families too. So some of them lost their loved ones. To save time and effort, we're also including the rest of the victims who aren't necessarily affiliated with us."

"Oh..." Reivan unconsciously clenched his fist as he tried to maintain an even expression. "I'll come too... But is that's okay?"

Elsamina's eyes met his and she smiled a little wider. "Of course. I'd actually prefer having you as an escort instead of the usual procession. Don't get me wrong, they're dependable. But they're not very talkative."

"Alright. Luckily, I like black clothes so I'll undoubtedly have something to wear... Oh, wait a minute." He didn't need to check his pocket watch to know how late it was in the day, given how he'd spent the majority of it rolling around in bed with Elsa. The orange light coming from outside was a telling fact too. "Is the funeral happening at night? Why?"

"The heat makes it hard to preserve corpses unless a person dedicated to cooling a place down is assigned. And we don't have a lot of those. Because of that, we're rushing to deal with the corpses. We can't even wait to inform kin who live in other cities... mainly because we couldn't be sure if those people were dead too. Looking for them in this situation isn't very practical either."

Reivan somberly nodded. "That makes sense..."

"Additionally," Elsa raised a finger. "Corpses that have somewhat rotten aren't exactly pretty to look at. Doing it at night will make it hard for people to get a good look."

"I didn't consider that, but it makes sense now that I think about it." He crossed his legs and poured himself a cup of wine from a nearby carafe. It was of Arkhanian make, he mused. And this might even be the last time he'd taste it. "How are the bodies going to be dealt with? Cremation?"

She sat down in front of the vanity again and seemed to be contemplating which earrings she would wear as she talked to him. "That would have been the plan, but we didn't think it'd be a good idea to burn the corpses of people who died due to heat."

"Oh, I can see the logic in that..." Reivan sipped at his drink in contemplation. "What about letting them float away into the sea? In rafts, I mean? All the leaves dried off, but there are still some trees in the area, no?"

Elsamina's brows shot up in surprise. And he couldn't blame her because what he just suggested was a primitive funeral ceremony from Earth.

After seemingly thinking about it, Elsamina shook her head. "I haven't heard of that method yet, but I don't think it's a good idea either. The seawater close to the majority of the southern shores is contaminated with ash at the moment. But the bodies could get eaten by sea monsters... or worse, attract them."

'Whoops. Didn't think of that either. Guess a different world really is different. In a lot of ways.'

"Then what?" Reivan tilted his head. "Bury them outside the city? I'm assuming there's a lot so it'll be a monumental task. I could help, of course."

"Some battlemages have volunteered," she said with a smile as she replaced her earring with one made of a big pearl, examining her reflection to see if it looked good enough. "A few of the knights volunteered as well. In fact, they've already made numerous individual pits with stone coffins at the bottom."

"I see. That was nice of them." he smiled, internally praising his nation's prided warriors.

"Right? The kingdom really stepped up. They're even having us distribute relief supplies to the citizens, though they're making it really obvious that they intend to take over Lageton..."

Reivan cleared his throat. "On that note... How are the people reacting? To Aizen pretty much taking charge here, I mean."

Elsamina hummed in thought for a heartbeat before shrugging. "People aren't dumb, Ken. They know that the kingdom is the only choice they have. From the look of things, they intend to do it peacefully, putting forward intentions of holding an election. But nobody in their right mind is going to step up to govern a place that's so close to getting wiped out. To the people of Lageton, it doesn't even matter who the kingdom sends as a candidate, be it the king's cousin's husband's brother, or some other nobody. No sane person is going to run against the kingdom in an election. Not when the country's like this. Even I would hesitate."

'So it's as we predicted.'

For everyone but Argonia and Aizen, the lands of the former Arkhan were hot potatoes. Each and every single city. Only a large country had the resources to help what used to be the republic recover to mildly liveable conditions.

Reivan emptied his wine glass and got up, walking up to Elsamina's back and helping her set her hair. He'd gotten quite good at it from helping Helen every day, though he probably shouldn't volunteer that information. Growing up with little sisters two times also gave him plenty of reason to gain proficiency at the art.

"Thanks." Elsa smiled widely up at him before picking out a different necklace instead. There were plenty, and he remembered most of them coming from him. "By the way, I didn't get to ask because I was a bit too excited to see you. But what brought you here?"

"A bit? It was a lot more than just a bit, no? Our lips were glued together for hours and I'm quite sure my balls are utterly empty. Not that I'm complaining, of course. But saying it's a little bit is an understatement."

"Oh, be quiet and answer the question," she rolled her eyes but grinned smugly—probably proud of how good he'd obviously felt throughout the entire session.

It was very easy to measure how good a man felt during the deed, after all. The volume of the load was different for everyone, he assumed, but the number of shots one fired was a metric that could easily be understood.

"I heard you'd be busy until the end of the month," she continued, snapping him out of his idle thoughts. "I didn't think you'd arrive until then."

Reivan momentarily wondered who she heard that from, but shrugged because it didn't matter. He leaned down and gave the crown of her heard a peck, getting a whiff of her fragrant hair. "You're here. Why wouldn't I want to come?"

"There you go again with your double meanings... And you know you don't need to flatter me anymore. My heart is already filled with you."

"Your heart isn't the only thing I filled..."

"Scoundrel. My fiance's an irredeemably lecherous scoundrel." Elsamina giggled, bumping his stomach with the back of her head. "Woe is me. It seems I'm going to be defiled over and over after the wedding."

"Oh, you know it." Reivan playfully smirked like an evil villain, wriggling his fingers as he reached down for her breasts. "You'd better be ready!"

She slapped his hands away. "You'll wrinkle my dress. And you haven't answered my question."

Reivan slapped his hand and pouted like a kicked dog. "But I said it was because I wanted to see you..."

"That is likely one of the reasons, but what are the others?"

Groaning, Reivan finally sighed with a nod. "I came to talk about a few things."

"I've kept communication channels open, so shouldn't you have been perfectly capable of sending messages through the relay?"

"I felt that the topic had to be discussed personally."

Through the mirror’s reflection, he saw Elsamina raise a brow as she held up a silver necklace with an embedded ruby as big as his pinky. It had also been something he’d gifted her a year or two ago, though he couldn’t remember what the occasion had been. Honestly, he could have gifted it to her for no particular reason.

He did that a lot, now that he thought about it.

After a few moments of silence passed, Elsa finally spoke, though her voice was somewhat muted. "Good news, I hope. Or is it bad news? Have you perhaps realized that you want to break our engagement...?"

"What? No, no, no. It's definitely not that, Elsa." Reivan let go of the hair he was braiding and hugged her from behind. “I’m not letting anything stop that. Not even the Sage King coming back from the dead will separate us.”

“That’s too much,” Elsa giggled and her mood returned to normal. “Then what'd you want to talk to me about?”

“Well…” Reivan licked his lips in hesitation. He was about to tell her his true identity. And it was now or never, since he didn’t want to delay it any longer.

One thing was certain, he didn’t want to experience the trope where he kept holding on to the secret and some big event popped up that separated them for a long time. Then he’d only get to tell her after the climax of the arc.

Today was an ordinary day. And that made it perfect. He didn’t want fanfare to accompany his big reveal.

‘Besides, I’ve already hinted that the face I’m using isn’t my real face from the very start…’

Now was just the time to show her the real him. That was all. She was about to get married to him and benefit from the protection of the royal family, so there was no longer any risk to her knowing who he really was.

At the very back of his mind, however, he was afraid she’d break things off with him if she knew who he really was. It was a baseless fear, he knew. But it gnawed at him nonetheless.

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“What is it, Ken?” Elsa looked up at him innocently, her smile setting his heart at ease. “Tell me. I’ll listen.”

‘That’s… That’s right. What am I so worried about? It’s not like she fell in love with my face, right?’

Or was it? Well, it may have been a factor, but his real face didn’t look too bad either so it should be fine, no? Oh, but what if his “Ken” face was her type but his “Reivan” face just wasn’t? That would be disastrous.

Suddenly, Reivan found himself getting cold feet. But he pushed through anyway. Surely, their relationship was stronger than that. It wouldn’t end just because of something like disliking the other’s face. At this point, he wouldn't break things off with her even if half her face melted off and she looked like an unmasked Two-Face.

Worst case scenario, he could just transform while she was with her.

“You know how this face isn’t my real one, right?” Reivan nervously resumed braiding her soft red locks. “You still remember that?”

“I did, though it’s been a while since we’ve addressed it.”

“Yeah… Well, I’ve been thinking. And I think it’s about time that I took the disguise off… We’re getting married within the year, after all.”

It would be a bit much to marry both Helen and Elsa at the same time or in quick succession, but half a year seemed like a respectable amount of time. In the past, he’d thought about waiting a whole year, but he didn’t think he was patient enough to wait that long anymore.

Half a year was his max. If he had to wait even longer, he’d much rather force it through, public opinion be damned. He could just sneak Elsa into the Sun God’s main church and ask Saintess Frey to officiate.

The likelihood of him having to resort to that was low, but he was ready to do it.

Naturally, he’d have done it for Helen too, but the national-level support their union was receiving made his resolve irrelevant. In fact, everyone was rushing them at this point. Not that he minded, of course.

“I see…” Elsamina put down the jewelry she’d been holding up to her neck and gazed into his eyes through the mirror. “So it’s finally time for you to tell me that you’re Reivan Aizenwald, huh?”

“That’s right. Now, I know it’s a little hard to take in, but—”

Suddenly, Reivan stopped himself from talking and tried to think back to what she’d just said. He thought he’d heard wrong for a moment, but the surprisingly impish grin on the usually mature Elsa’s lips made him think otherwise.

“Did you just—” he started, but was interrupted.

“Did I just say that you’re Reivan Aizenwald, second prince of the Aizen Kingdom?” Elsamina finished for him, covering her giggling mouth. “Yes. I believe I did.”

Reivan’s head was left spinning in confusion after he just got the rug pulled from under him. “H-How did you… Wait, did someone tell you? No, that can’t be it…”

“That’s not it.” She stood up to turn around, grabbing both of his hands as they faced each other. “I found out on my own.”

“On your own…? How?”

“Well, you know how you mentioned using some really advanced illusion artifact that doesn’t wear off even if someone touches you?”

Reivan nodded.

Elsamina then reached up and ruffled his hair. “Well, it stops affecting any of the hair that falls off. And I found a silver one after some particularly rough lovemaking.”

“Th-that’s…” Reivan’s jaw slackened as he thought about it. “That surely isn’t enough of a reason to assume it was me…?”

“Extremely strong at a young age. Access to intricate artifacts not available even to Aizen's bourgeoise.” Elsa began listing off some very incriminating facts that, in hindsight, made it very obvious who he was. “Our entire enterprise receiving preferential treatment in the kingdom’s market—”

“Okay, okay. Stop.” He held up a hand and massaged the bridge of his nose. “I get it. I understand it now.”

She didn’t stop though. “Besides, you assigned a lot of powerful female guards with hyper-militaristic discipline to me like it was nothing. And there are very few ways for a woman to get that powerful. Knighthood stood out the most because the order accepts any citizen who’s willing to swear loyalty to the crown.”

“Son of a…” Reivan licked his lower lip, realizing that he hadn’t exactly been subtle with his power abuse. “You’re right.”

“Well, I appreciate it since I can really feel how much you think about my safety…”

“Of course, I do.”

Elsamina giggled, wrapping her arms around him and standing on tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. “I’m happy that you finally decided to tell me yourself though.”

Reivan returned her hug, not particularly amused by her antics. “You didn’t let me tell you myself.”

“I got a bit too excited.” she stuck her tongue out playfully.

Seeing her smile like the child she never got to be, Reivan’s heart sank in a way it had never done.

‘Holy fuck. I love this woman. And I’m going to marry her too.’

It wasn’t some sudden discovery. But at this very moment, he, oddly enough, didn’t feel happy. His heart was instead filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite describe.

Very soon, this woman who he loved so much was going to be his responsibility. Not just her safety, but her happiness and the welfare of their children too.

He’d felt the same pressure with Helen at the start before his childhood friend set the record straight between them. But Elsamina was different.

Helen was… well, Helen. She was extremely self-sufficient. You could leave her alone somewhere and she’d probably still be there when you returned, unharmed and unfazed. His first wife was the pinnacle of talent and someone who was going to get stronger than him eventually. Sure, he was going to try to keep up. But he might fail. And it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing if he did because that would mean that Helen was just that good.

At the back of his mind, Reivan knew that he didn’t need to worry about her that much. He still would, but there was a confidence within him that she would somehow get through most situations.

Elsamina was different. Sure, she was self-sufficient in her own right. It wasn’t as if she was some useless damsel whose only redeeming quality was being pretty.

But she was weak.

In a world where violence was a possible answer to every problem as long as you had enough of it, Elsamina was very very poor.

And that made her someone to protect in Reivan’s eyes. Someone that he had to protect.

Someone he wanted to protect.

Reivan looked at the woman lovingly looking up at him and felt the weight of her life on his shoulders. It had always been there, but this moment was what made him notice just how heavy it was and how he wanted it to be there.

“I love you, Elsa.” he blurted out, but the moment the words came out on their own he chose to double down. “Please marry me.”

Elsa’s arms around him tightened and her smile widened. “I love you too, but don’t you think you ask me to marry you too much?”

“...Do I?”

“This must be the tenth time already.”

“That much? Damn.” Reivan chuckled. “And I wanted this to be a special moment too.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Elsa giggled along with him. “I like the boring and repetitive moments too.”

“Ouch. Boring and repetitive…?”

“Oh, you know that’s not what I meant. Stop being such a baby.”

“I’ll show you who’s a baby.” Reivan grinned ferally and grabbed big handfuls of her ass.

“W-wait, we shouldn't do this… I just finished getting ready.”

Slightly annoyed, Reivan let her go. She was right, after all. He couldn’t inconvenience her by ruining hours of preparation just because he felt emotional.

“Oh, what am I going to do with you…” Elsa sighed in affectionate exasperation, probably noticing his frustration. With a troubled smile, she took him by the hand. “Come, sit over here.”

Confused, Reivan allowed himself to be led into the seat Elsamina had just been occupying in front of the vanity. Then Elsa, the goddess of kindness that she was, knelt down in front of him and grabbed him by the belt.

“Well, if I do it like this, I’ll only have to reapply it to my lips… Be satisfied with this, okay?”

“Uh, you don’t have to, really…”

“Shush.”

Elsa seductively licked her lip.

“Don’t think you’re the only one in the mood after all that.”

----------------------------------------

After having his soul sucked out of him through his second head, Reivan accompanied Elsamina to the outskirts of Lageton.

Usually, Elsa had an entire guard detail of female knights, but since Reivan was present, there were only two with them. One was driving the magitech carriage they were taking to their destination while the other followed them from the shadows.

On their way there, Reivan gave Elsamina a brief rundown of what the kingdom intended for Lageton and a few facts about how the republic turned out this way. He basically treated her as part of his household now, so she had every right to know.

That had the undesirable side-effect of her knowing that the kingdom was partly to blame for the disaster Arkhan was suffering though.

At the back of his mind, however, Reivan only accepted blame for the Sage King’s death and was partly responsible for the government’s collapse. The heatwave was caused by that elf while Argonia was the one who hunted down silver cloaks shortly after Antonnel’s death. Sir Rolf also didn’t cause any collateral damage.

Still, none of it would have happened if Aizen left Arkhan alone, allowing it to potentially gain enough power to dominate the continent.

The kingdom did what it had to. And though it was an undesirable result, the people of Arkhan suffered for it.

“Are you disillusioned by us?” Reivan asked her, their arms linked as they got shaken around in the damned death cart of a magitech carriage.

To his surprise, Elsamina shook her head. “If I was in the kingdom’s position, I would have done the same thing. The royal family has taken care of the kingdom for thousands of years—if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't allow any risks of it being destroyed.”

“I see…”

“And besides.” She smiled sadly. “The strong do as they will, while the weak suffer what they must. That’s just the truth of the world. Aizen simply did what it had to so it could remain as one of the strong. For the people, am I right?”

Reivan bit his lip as his grip on her hand tightened a little. “You’re right.”

“I expect the same level of dedication for any kids we have.”

“Uh.” Reivan’s brows shot up, dumbfounded by the sudden statement. But he vigorously nodded after a heartbeat. “Of course. You can count on me.”

Elsamina reached up to pinch his cheek. “That’s my boy.”

“...I’m an adult.”

“Do you think I, of all people, don’t know that?”

She giggled, and the tiny bit of annoyance he felt at being treated like a kid melted away. In exchange, he felt like he wanted to express his affection in some way.

By now, he’d already realized that his favorite ways of showing love were intimate physical contact and gifts. But since they’d just had a bunch of the former, he tried the latter instead.

That was when he realized that he did have a gift for her. One that he’d intended to give her in person for a long time now.

“Elsa, look here.” Reivan pulled out an amethyst orb and showed it to her.

She had her eyes closed though, basking in the moment. His usual antics made her think he was trying to show her something else though. “Honey, I told you that we should wait until after the funeral, right? Don’t think showing me your thing is going to change that.”

“It’s not tha—C’mon, just look. it’s not my dick!”

Finally, she opened her eyes and made a little noise of surprise when her gaze fell on the purple ball in his palm. “It’s pretty. Is this another gift? You already know I’m starting to run out of places to put them… I’m still thankful though. How do you even wear this? Or is it a decoration?”

Reivan shook his head and held it up to her face. “No, it’s not a jewel. Well, maybe it is. I don’t know. But look closer. Right there, something’s inside.”

Elsa seemed a bit skeptical but followed along anyway. She kept one eye closed as she peered into the orb, jerking back when she realized there was something moving within. “Is that some kind of illusion? There’s a tiny lion inside.”

“It’s a spirit beast.” He smiled as he placed it on her hand. “A powerful one. I got it for you way back before the republic got messed up.”

“A spirit beast…?”

“Yup. There’s a spell that you need to do to form a temporary contract that can become permanent if it likes you. But don’t worry about that part, because I have my ways.”

“Wow…” Elsamina cupped the orb with both hands and watched the miniature adult lion with a mane of flame-like hair look up at her curiously. “This is amazing… But do I really need more guards?”

“No, uh…” Reivan arranged the words in his head first so she would understand it easier. “So you see, there’s a way for people to extend their lifespan or even reach Ascendance with the help of spirit beasts. A knight that I know and respect did it that way too, until they Ascended on their own anyway.”

Realizing his intentions, her eyes widened. “Honey… This is…”

“You’ll receive it, right?” Reivan leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder, trying very hard to look cute but probably seeming like an idiot instead. “Surely, you won’t say no to my gift.”

“H-How could I refuse at this point…? It must have been hard for you to get this.”

“Nah, it was easy. Don’t worry about it.”

You have used [Essence of Falsehood]!

Reivan knew that he could have probably scored some points with her if she knew the things he had to go through and the risks he took, but that couldn’t outweigh the guilt she would feel.

Some people would argue that lying, even when it was for the person’s own good, was wrong no matter how you put it. But Reivan’s opinion was that those people could shove their opinion up their asses. Because in his experience, the truth didn’t set him free—it doubled the burden and gave it to the next person.

There were times when a simple lie would lead everyone involved to happiness.

Besides, did he really need more points with her? She was obviously utterly in love with him. Maybe just as much as he loved her.

‘Eh, she might find out anyway. One day. But not today.’

“Liar…” Elsamina surprisingly didn’t believe him, making all of his considerations pointless. “There’s no way it was easy. The Tower had a monopoly on spirit beasts for so long, you know? Nobody outside of it could even fathom how they did it.”

[Essence of Falsehood] only made his lies more believable. But it seemed in this case, Elsamina was a bit too informed about things to be deceived. His little lie was apparently absurd in her eyes.

Slightly embarrassed at his epic failure, Reivan cleared his throat. “I said don’t worry about it. Aren’t I alive?”

“But it was dangerous, right?”

“I’m a prince, so I had my own set of failsafes.”

“Failsafes can fail.”

“Elsa.”

Reivan cut her off, brushing a tuft of her hair behind her ear. “You better get used to me doing things for you. Because I would do so much more.”

“I…” Elsamina was about to say something but averted her gaze instead, exposing the side of her face and the red tip of her ear.

‘Adorable.’

“And if you haven’t already noticed, I actually like being around you.” Amused, he hooked her chin and turned her face back toward him. “So I’d obviously want you around forever. Countries can rise and fall. Seas dry up and mountains can vanish. But even then, I want us to be by my side through it all.”

At this point, the blush had bled into her face and she couldn’t help but physically push his face away. “Y-You say that, but I’m still the second wife.”

“Urk!”

Reivan groaned. He really couldn’t say anything to that. It was true, after all. And there was no way around it. What’s worse was how he wouldn’t push Helen away even if Elsa begged him to. Of course, the opposite was true as well.

He literally had no rebuttal.

Naturally, he’d thought about what to say when this exact situation came up, but even he wasn’t that confident in its legitimacy. “I swear I’ll love you both equally…”

Elsa edged to the other end of the carriage, putting distance between them. “How can I trust the words of a womanizer? Hmph.”

Even though he could sense that she was just joking around, he still couldn’t help but get cut by her words. He really had no way to deny such allegations. She didn’t even know about Mira yet. Good lord, he really hoped that when she found out, Elsa wouldn’t be exasperated to the extent of divorcing him.

His silence must have clued her in that he was admitting defeat in this little verbal spar of theirs, so she turned back to him after regaining her calm. “Don’t feel too bad about it. I’m happy enough as it is to be an official wife instead of a concubine… My past needs no mentioning.”

“Elsa—”

“I know, I know.” She waved her hand dismissively as she scooted closer to him. “It was never my fault and you don’t mind. You’ve said it many times. But still, I’m thankful that I’m getting more than I deserve. Thank you… for loving someone like me.”

Reivan grabbed her hand and squeezed a little hard so his sentiments would come through. Feeling as if he didn’t really like the subject, however, he shifted the conversation elsewhere. “Anyway, I’ll be getting married to Helen first…”

“Yes, I heard. The nation’s apparently abuzz. Aizen’s citizens aren’t even paying attention to the things happening over here.”

“Yeah…”

‘Part of the reason why my marriage is getting rushed is to divert public attention, after all.’

Really, it was just a minor reason. Just an instance of the stars aligning. It’s not as if the crown wouldn’t have had the Sage King killed if the public protested about it. This was a matter of national interest, after all. The stakes were so high that very few things mattered in comparison.

The hubbub over his wedding just helped things go smoother.

Everyone loved a good wedding, after all. There weren’t a lot of royals in recent decades, so it didn’t happen that often. Besides, wasn’t it better to prefer nearby celebrations instead of mourning tragedies across the border? Not to mention how revered the Aizenwald royal family was by the kingdom’s people.

His wedding was a joyous occasion that would simultaneously prevent the general public in Aizen from fixating on the republic's situation for a while.

“So…” Reivan licked his lip in hesitation for a moment before forcing out the words. “Helen was wondering if you wanted to come…”

“She did?” Elsamina’s brows shot up in what was clearly genuine astonishment. “We don’t meet often, but I didn’t get the impression that she liked me very much.”

“She, uh, doesn’t. Actually. Oh, but she doesn’t hate you.”

“Understandable. I don’t hate her either, but I can’t really like her much… Though I did plan to at least try getting along with her when we started seeing each other more.”

Elsamina hummed in contemplation for a few heartbeats before she nodded.

“Right. I don’t think I’ll go.”

Reivan frowned. “You won’t?”

“Yes. I don’t know how I’ll feel if I watch someone else get married to you—even if I'm still not used to considering your real self as my beloved. And the bride probably won’t be all that happy to see me either. Also, it’ll spoil the experience for when we get married. I’ll always compare it to hers.”

“I-I see… Alright. I’ll tell her you were busy...”

“Please do. Oh, but thank her for the invitation. It means a lot to me that she’s willing to go at least that far. Makes me think that we really can keep things civil.”

Her frank words made sense to him and made him realize that perhaps having a harem wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Was he going to be okay? He wasn’t sure now.

“Worried?” Elsamina pinched his cheek again. She must have noticed his inner conflict due to his grimace. “Don’t worry too much. I know my place as the second wife. It’s a bit sad though…”

“Elsa…”

“Oh, but if our husband pays enough attention to me, maybe I won’t feel as sad about my inferior position?”

Seeing her impish grin, Reivan couldn’t help but feel as if he’d stumbled into another trap. But at this point, he may as well jump in. “Noted. I’ll be sure to give my poor second wife lots of love.”

Elsamina giggled and pinched his nose this time, giving it a little shake. “I’m counting on you… Reivan.”

A moment after saying his name, however, she grimaced.

“That’s gonna take some getting used to…” she muttered to herself before turning to him. “I hope you understand, but for years, the face I imagined whenever I get lonely is the one you’re wearing right now. Not the prince’s.”

Reivan nodded helplessly, a bit conflicted. On one hand, he was sad that he’d still need to keep his disguise for a while until she adjusted. And on the other hand, he was happy that she loved him to such an extent that it was hard for her to adjust.

“Once in a while…” Elsa quietly squeezed his hand, the orb in her other. “Let’s do it while you're using your real face.”

“Alright." he chuckled sheepishly. "Please take care of me, then.”

“Please take care of me too," she said before leaning in close and whispering into his ear. "Forever.”

Reivan couldn’t help but smile at that, causing her to mirror the joy on his face. Then she pecked him on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.

‘You can count on me.’